: Russia announced on Tuesday it was beefing up its peacekeeping force in Georgia's breakaway Abkhazia region and accused Tbilisi of readying an invasion to restore Georgian rule. Tbilisi denied it had any plans for an attack, but the Russian move marks a further escalation in a crisis between the two ex-Soviet neighbours that has already alarmed Georgia's allies in Europe and the United States. The step came four days after Russia said it would use force to defend its compatriots in the rebel regions if Georgia attacked. Most residents in the regions hold Russian passports. Russia's foreign...
photo: AP Photo/ Alexander Zemlianichenko
